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A gunshot ricocheted off the walls. I wheeled in its direction. And then, I saw him.
Them.
* * *
"Why?"I asked the man I would have once laid my life down for. "Why would you do this, Cole? You're with ... him?"
"And if you knew half the truths behind what happens in the military, Reed, you would join us," the ghost replied, his voice barely above a whisper.
"Do you know what they did to Omar after 9/11? Why don't you ask Miguel? They served together once, but like the rest, he would rather live in denial."
"You're wrong," Miguel hissed back. "I didn't know what happened to Omar after he left the old Unit. All I heard was he got caught up with the wrong people, and I got the right info, from the looks of it."
"But you didn't," Omar cut in, his tone slithering across our skin. "You weren't there to see what they did to me, Thunder. How they forgot everything I had given them."
"And you justified it by going on a mindless bender of killing and torturing people the world over?"
"YOU MADE ME THIS!" he shouted, his voice echoing through the sacred space. "YOU ARE THE MONSTERS."
"You left me to die, Captain."
My eyes bored into Cole's. "No, Cole. I didn't. I wanted to come back for you. I spent my whole life regretting something that never happened in the first place.
“Was it worth the sacrifice, though? Did it feel good to betray the country that is your blood, that gave you a home and a name for ... for this?"
He didn't flinch. "I don't value worth any longer, Skipper. Worth and purpose," he continued, sneering. "Big words, zero meaning."
My voice strained. "What do you want from Juniper? Why are you doing this?"
Cole's face contorted as he spoke, and his answer dripped disdain. "It's a job, nothing personal. We're being paid well, and we always deliver."
A job. To kill Juniper. This could only mean one thing.
We weren't the only people Hunter had hired.
He'd intended to take Juniper down from all sides. Leave no table unturned.
When his time came, I'd make sure to return the favor.
My fists clenched, my resolve growing stronger. "You won't get to her. Not while I'm here."
With a menacing grin, Omar chimed in, his voice laced with malice, "Such asoldier. You can't save everyone."
And then, I felt it. The call of every mission I'd ever been on and every life I'd saved. The purpose—the why of it all. "I'll be damned if I don't try, Wazir."
"Why don't you begin with me, then?" Cole moved forward, baring his teeth. "No guns. Just pure close-quarters combat, just like they taught us."
"Cole," I replied, knowing full well the Cole I'd known and loved was long dead. "You don't need to do this."
"But I do," he whispered. "It's too late for me, Reed. There's nothing else I'm built for."
The man in front of me would kill every last person in this church. Not because he wanted to, but he'd been trained and brainwashed that well. I closed my eyes in a second of silent prayer. And then, I let my gun drop to the ground.
I squared off with Cole, knowing that this was the moment that would test every ounce of my training and determination. We locked eyes, a fierce intensity burning between us.
Cole lunged forward, throwing a powerful punch aimed at my face. I instinctively ducked, feeling the rush of air as his fist whizzed past me. I retaliated with a quick jab to his midsection, but he deflected it with a swift block.
"Is this the best you've got, Reed?" Cole taunted, a wry grin on his face.
